Systematic Redemption
by khanmiR1
Summary: Garrus Vakarian is a soldier of morality. When his employers at C-Sec start to hinder him from what's right in the galaxy, he must find an out. He knew it would happen this way eventually, he just never thought it would be through a human woman. GarrusXfemShep. rated M for language and adult themes.
1. SR1: Didn't Think I'd Meet you Here

_I hope you all like this story, I plan for it to be a long one. There will definitely be rated M smut in the next chapter. updated once a week at the very latest. Reviews and subs are much appreciated._

* * *

Angrily, he clutched the small shot glass and brought it up to his mouth, downing the drink in one burning gulp. His taste buds fizzled out and left him with the bitter and tangy aftertaste that only cheap liquor can provide. Bringing his hand up to rub his eyes, he mentally chastised himself for his mistake. If it weren't for his utter stupidity earlier, he wouldn't be in this accursed place, putting up with blaring techno beats and ravenous women taking turns at shoving their asses in his face.

"Come on, Officer. Can't you just have a little fun on the job?" A venomously seductive voice travelled through the air and brought his attention to three figures in the corner of the club, not far from where he was. 5.67m away, just under the 6.0m threshold for audible eavesdropping range. He clicked his visor through the other readout options before setting back to 'audible distance', and readjusted himself in his seat for a better, inconspicuous view.

"I spent a long time in the archives…"

"…and you know it hasn't been that long since I last spoke to her…"

"…maybe we could head somewhere private…"

"Would you like another round of drinks?" The eavesdropper turned to face a young waitress. After taking a second to regroup his thoughts, he nodded curtly and returned to scanning the crowded room. His audible scanner was handy everywhere else besides a place like this. He picked up every little conversation, including some that were quite interesting and others that he didn't care much for. But they were all a waste of his time because of how difficult it was to pinpoint his target's conversations alone. Too bad this was his assignment. And no matter how miniscule or degrading it was, he needed to go through with it. This was the ultimatum that was given to him as a deciding factor of his fate among the ranks of the rest of the C-Sec officers. If he didn't want to atone for his mistake through a few grunt missions, then he can quit and settle into a life away from the law.

The waitress returned with 3 more shot glasses for him to drown in. He took one, then another right after. Having to clear his throat a little, he opened his mouth for a deep inhale. The liquor stung in his throat and he could feel the bubbly sensation of a slight buzz in his head. At least no one had bothered to forbid alcohol consumption on the job.

"…another night with him is torture…"

"…need to go to the bathroom…"

"…cancel the meeting tomorrow…"

He tapped his fingers on the table impatiently as he watched his targets move just outside of his extended earshot, no longer seeming to be immersed in conversation. The two were on their own data pads now, forgetting about their third companion who left to go dance on some other patron's lap. The room dizzied a bit when he turned his attention back to his last shot glass. _Screw it._ He downed it with a little more struggle than the ones prior. Dancers and patrons were already starting to float around the room more wobbly than usual. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them with the hopes that the room would no longer be moving. It was to no avail – he was drunk. Leaning his head back in his chair, he forgot his task at hand and thought about what he would tell his superiors in the morning.

_Well instead of gathering intel through eavesdropping, I decided to get drunk instead. Sir._

He laughed to himself at the absurd idea. This whole thing was absurd; Sitting alone in a dance club, drinking by himself with light tactical armor on and a visor on his left eye. If that didn't scream undercover operative, he didn't know what else would. Then again, there were quite a few others in the club with a whole variety of different types of armor on as well. So maybe he did have a chance still that he hadn't been found out yet.

"….bathroom was so dirty…"

"…another song like this the other day…"

"…can get some space around here? I need to you be a little more professional around me, Lieutenant. I'm still your commanding officer regardless of where we are. Now go…do something. Over there on that side of the club."

His attention was now focused on a very angry looking human woman, dressed in light tactical armor. _Alliance issued? _His eyes moved to watch her roam around their half of the room, searching for an empty seat. She paused when she caught sight of her watcher, and started making her way through the people towards him.

"Is that seat taken? I need a break." The Turian shook his head and gestured for her to sit before stacking the empty shot glasses out of her way.

"I uh… see you've been having a good time?" She spoke carefully, nodding towards the glasses he was handling. He gave her a look of feigned interest and turned his eyes towards the bar. One of the targets with the data pad was gone. _Damnit. This is why I don't drink. _He gave up and turned back towards the woman.

"As good a time as any. What about your now rejected admirer?" He motioned to the bartender by holding two fingers for drinks. The woman scoffed and held up two of her fingers after him. They waited in silence for their 4 drinks to arrive before continuing.

"He overstepped his boundaries and I had to deal with it. So no, it's not a very good time. Once I get this liquor in me though…" She paused and took both shots at the same time, keeping careful watch of her new acquaintance. "You can call me Shepard if you want, my last name. Everyone does."

"Hm..Shepard." He rolled the name over on his tongue, over annunciating the consonants. Reaching for one of his two shot glasses, he locked eyes with her.

"Vakarian." He said it slowly, allowing her to hear each syllable of the name, then he took the shot. Shepard eyed him carefully before reaching her hand across the table. She grabbed his remaining drink and downed it herself. The Turian male leaned back in his chair once more and chuckled.

"So that's what I get for inviting you to sit, hm? Some first date." His head cocked slightly towards Shepard while he watched her lap up a final drop from the glass. She laughed breathily while waving the bartender over for another round.

"You didn't look like you needed it. I did you a favor, Vakarian."

"Yeah, one that is still going on my tab, regardless. "

She curved her lips into a devilish grin and stacked their newly emptied glasses into another tower.

"Don't worry, it's been put to _good _use."

* * *

2 hours later, the human and Turian still sat at the same table, just as drunk, if not more so than the rest of the club.

"I finally feel like I fit in at this place," Shepard started and reached sloppily for the mixed cocktail at the center of the table. "But that's only because I'm more wasted than I've been in a mile."

Vakarian cocked his head to the side, squinting his eyes at her. "…don't you mean, 'while'?"

"That's what I said, 'than I've been in a while'." It was stated so matter of fact, that he was forced to believe her. He _was_ drunk after all.

The Turian male glanced at her with curiosity lingering in the gaze before leaning his head on his hand. He sipped at his now stagnant tasting beverage. He was in the stage of drunkenness where he almost couldn't bear to force anything else down his gullet. Lights flashed and pulsated throughout his periphery and he struggled to focus his pupils on Shepard. He realized after much effort that her mouth was moving again, and there were sounds coming out of it. Well, he couldn't hear or understand them for that matter, but her lips were opening and closing for what seemed like forever, which pointed to some novelization of a new story for him.

In the first hour that they met, they exchanged pleasantries. The man let the woman talk for the most part, offering her short but polite verbal queues to her questions and comments. As the time rolled by, so did the drinks. The two became very obviously drunk. Vakarian was the one to finally break the first barrier by suggesting they play a game of 20 questions. The woman delighted in the idea and insisted with drunken slurs that she start the game.

A small finger uncurled around her dewed glass, pointing towards the man across from her.

"Okay, Vakarian. I'll get started since you aren't listening to my stories…How many times have you…had sex in a public place?" She grinned, baring her teeth in a glistening white row. Vakarian groaned and lowered his forehead to the table.

"…can't remember…or 4 times." His answer was muffled by the music around them as a ridiculously fast paced beat blared in their ears. Shepard winced at a head rush, and chimed back as crisp as she could make her voice.

"Did you say 3 or 4 times? That's a solid number!" He raised her head in time to catch her next question.

"Where were those places?" Vakarian flared his mandibles and bared his own sharp teeth in mimicry of the human's smile before retorting, "I thought it was my turn to ask a question."

Shepard waved her hand lazily while she sipped up the last of the blue concoction. When there wasn't another answer from the woman, Vakarian took it as an invitation and asked his burning question.

"hmm…Where are the places you've had public sex?" Shepard's mouth flung open in defeat and she threw her hands up to the air in playful frustration. She looked wild to him, and he gazed on with interest while she straightened up her back and combed through her hair with all 5 fingers of a hand.

"Well, there have been 3 distinct times that I can remember; On an Alliance vessel in the cockpit of the ship, in the C-sec library, and behind some crates in a warehouse whose location I will not disclose." She nodded, satisfied, and took a sip of her companion's drink. Her mouth puckered in disgust and she quickly set the drink back down in front of him. "You uh…you can keep that drink…ugh."

"Gee, thanks Shepard. I thought you'd never extend the offer." He snorted before chugging it. He wiped a mandible with his finger and frowned when his vision refused to return to normal. "Let's get out of here." He heard himself say it, but he didn't realize that it actually was him. The real Garrus wouldn't do that. Oh, right. He's drunk off his ass. How could he forget?

* * *

Uncertainty overtook Shepard's will. Uncertainty is a feeling that a soldier gets used to from the start. This feeling was different though, it held some other feeling with it. The other feeling was a warm nervousness, raising her temperature and tingling in her loins. When she brought herself to her feet, those feelings were joined by the overwhelming sensation of zero gravity inside her head. She was on the ground, but her mind was cloudy, airy, and wistfully light. Her arms shot out as her center of gravity gave way to chase after her mind. To her surprise, warm steady hands grabbed at her waist, pulling her close to the support that was the Turian's torso. She blushed and uncharacteristically leaned into him, smiling up through her foggy drunken haze. She felt his chest rumble and shake, the vibrations of his tonal laughter reaching her bosom with a fiery heat.

"Mmmm..I like that sound. It feels good to my ears." Her words stumbled out of her throat and her tongue lingered over the final 's'. She reached for his waist as she felt him pulling her body towards the exit door, bumping softly around dancing figures.

* * *

As they neared the door to the outside alleyway, the Turian wondered at how he was supporting two body's worth of weight. His felt tired and lazy, and all he wanted to do was fall asleep on top of this soft woman. So it came as no surprise when he found himself pressing the woman against the wall outside the door. Suddenly his body didn't feel tired anymore and he wondered how it would feel to have her naked body pushed against him in this way. His mind cleared of the techno haze and was replaced with a new type of fogginess; lust.


	2. SR2: Blame it on the Alcohol

_Wow. Thanks a lot to everyone who decided that my measly chapter 1 was worth following, favoriting, and even reviewing. It means a lot and is a huge motivator. Keep this up and I'll be updating the story much sooner than planned._

_This chapter is 90% sexual content. Those who lack appetites for xenophilic sex (which I hope is none of you), turn back now. I orginally labeled it as extreme, but it's not that extreme and my worries are now sated. Apparently people like this kind of thing._

* * *

"Excuse me." Garrus squinted at Shepard. Why did she say that? Well, it's actually fine that she said that, maybe she was trying to play hard to get like Turian women do. It wasn't what was said that bothered him. It wasn't even how it was said. It was the voice. Instead of being pleasantly soft and flirtatious, Vakarian heard it as a low and impatient grumble. Almost like a man's voice.

_Oh my god. She's a transves-_

His jumbled and borderline panicked thoughts were cut off by a largely masculine hand squeezing his shoulder. When the Turian brought his eyes to the owner of the hand, he sighed in relief audibly. The hand (and thankfully, the voice) belonged to the bouncer. Garrus knew this Krogan behemoth. Every time he had come here, the Krogan would be standing still as a statue, waiting for riff raff to disturb his alleyway peace. There would be no flirtatious or devious action of any kind outside of his dance club.

Shepard cleared her throat uncomfortably and placed both hands on Vakarian's abdomen, pushing him away from the potential crime scene. "Nothing to see here big guys, let's go." Garrus finally turned around to walk with his companion, still trying to get over the fact that he could have sworn Shepard might have been a man. It was still a strong possibility. It wasn't until he decided to look down at her that he realized by her "gaping mouthed" expression that he had been thinking aloud.

"Oh uh…sorry. I just heard his voice and I thought it came from you. Can't be too careful right?" He scratched his nose nervously and looked straight ahead. Ignoring what just happened, Shepard changed the subject back to the real issue at hand.

"So. I believe it was my turn. Have you ever had sex with a human?" She blinked up at him while they walked, or rather, stumbled down the alley together, casually grabbing the walls here and there for support. Garrus flinched, caught off guard by the resumption of his stupid game. He had only mentioned it to break the ice a little. He never thought his own idea would be twisted to interrogate himself. He should have known better. _But I'm drunk! That's it, I'm blaming everything on the liquor._

* * *

Blaming her ridiculously scandalous demeanor on the amount of alcohol she consumed in a 3 hour period, she decided to go along with it. Shepard could barely handle what was happening, and she almost felt sorry for the poor Turian. _He's probably never even considered the idea of getting with a human, much less found any of them attractive._ In fact, she herself hadn't ever thought about Turians as anything other than a militant race with powerfully strick personalities. _I bet he's repulsed by me. How do their women act when they're completely wasted?_ She sighed and slumped her shoulders forward in defeat. Intoxication mixed itself in her bloodstream, and she suddenly felt like laughing, crying, and yelling all at the same time. Not to mention her feet hurt. In fact, they hurt so much that she started to drag her toes with each step, slowing to a pace just a bit faster than a crawl.

"…Vakarian. I can't walk anymore. Why do my feet hurt so much? How long have we been walking?" She grabbed onto his arm for support while she steadied herself next to him. The unexpected weight on his left arm threw off his delicate balance and he flung his other arm out at a trash can next to him. _Why do __my__ feet hurt so much? _He looked around in utter confusion. They were in a back alleyway of the Wards, nowhere near the dance club they'd come from. As he regained his footing as best he could, he smiled when realization hit him as to where they were.

"Come on, Shepard. Just a little further." He reached an arm around her waist once more, pulling her with him towards the end of the alley. A door blew open as they approached and they found themselves on a small, out of place balcony overlooking the remainder of the wards. Further than that was the outside of the presidium, with its high rising towers spread about with even spacing. Looking up, the vast arms of the Citadel loomed over their artificial sky through the oxygen barrier window. In the middle of the night cycle, the Citadel's skyways were cleared of their lustrously perfect, digitally generated clouds and replaced with a dauntingly open view of the rest of their galaxy.

Shepard gasped and left her companion's side to lean against the railing as if to get an even better view. If she could stare at the Citadel's tentacle-like structure above her for an entire day, she'd be happy. But the fact that she could see beyond the massive city scape, at the wonderfully open darkness dotted with pinpricks of light was more than what she could ever ask for. Even when almost black out drunk, she would never cease to appreciate that she could live freely among the stars.

"Why is this even here? This has to be my favorite place on the Citadel!" Her smile cut through the intoxicated Turian like a hot knife through butter. He was behind her now, and while she stared at the beautiful City scape, he gazed at the beautiful body in front of him. His eyes shamelessly travelled up and down her curves, resting at each hump along the way.

_Why does the Alliance Navy issue their militant females such skin tight armor? Their males must go nuts on ships with them._

As if reading his mind, Shepard turned around and rested her elbows on the railing behind her, leaning back with her chest bumped towards him slightly. The movement was small, but it attracted his attention.

"No. No, I haven't ever had sex with a human female." He gulped down his rising temperature and shifted his weight to the other leg, subconsciously making room for a growing addition at the base of his chest piece. "Nor have I had sex on a balcony…" He huskily added as his hands reached out toward the open woman, wrapping around her back side and drawing her close. Heat rose to just beneath the plates on his face as he felt her grab onto his shoulders. She hoisted herself up onto the ledged railing and pretzeled both legs around his trim waist.

"Maybe we can fix both of those problems…as long as you don't let me fall." She breathed heavily as her body leaned in toward the armored male, closing her arms around his neck. She placed a hand on the back of his head, resting it at the base of his fringe, stroking and petting the rough hide. A low growl came from his stomach, up through his mouth and reverberated on her neck. Garrus nipped at the surprisingly soft flesh just behind her ear, garnering a few delightful shivers.

Strong Turian hands stroked her outer thighs while his mouth paused its nipping to tease her, "I don't see you falling any time soon by how you've curled your legs around me. Do all humans do this?"

"Some do I suppose – " She was cut off by her own sharp inhale of breath as she felt a rough tongue drag along the side of her neck. Hot words hit her ear drum like fire, "I know what my next question for you is." Her spine rippled in another shudder, stirring her whole body. She waited in anticipation with her hands gripped firmly on the back of Vakarian's neck. She watched him slowly close his eyes in pleasure, then open his mouth to affirm her suspicions.

"Do you want me, Shepard?"

* * *

Several minutes later, the two bodies had moved from their position along the balcony railing, to the cold floor at its base. The strong Turian had his prey trapped underneath him. The woman's legs were wrapped tightly around his waist while her arms were pinned to her sides.

"Well this isn't any fun since you've put your arms on the outsides of mine. How am I supposed to do anything?" Her lips pressed together into a pouting form that Garrus could only describe as 'cute'.

He nipped at her ear softly and whispered in between bites, "You're not having fun? This is the best time I've had in a while."

Shepard shivered at the feel of his hot breath against her cheek and adjusted her hips under him. Despite his wearing light armor, it wasn't the same as a standard C-Sec officer uniform. This particular outfit had less armor pieces to it – most likely for stealth enhancement. It didn't matter what it was for or why it didn't have as much protection. All she cared about at the moment was the fact that she could feel a surprisingly large lump against her pelvic bone. She wanted desperately to discover what exactly this tight fitting uniform was covering up. Her pinned arms made up for their inability to reach up at his face by making their way in between their bodies. They found the erogenous mass and began to rub slowly against the fabric. The body that it belonged to became rigid and tense. She rubbed with a little more pressure when she felt the breath at her ear hitch.

Garrus lowered his head further down, into her neck, while his hips began to grind against her hands. She inhaled sharply as the moving pressure of his groin humped steadily into her. Their shared arousal thickened.

"Move your arms, Vakarian." She gasped out to him through heavy breaths. He allowed her to bring her arms up and around his neck before tightening his forearms back at her sides, slightly under her shoulders. She rubbed and massaged his head and fringe with all 10 fingers, instilling a primal hunger in him that made him want her that much more. Growling into her hair, he leaned on one arm and reached down to the zipper at his body suit with the other. While he undid his uniform, Shepard took the opportunity to catch the Turian off guard. She pushed him to the side and rolled over him, straddling his waist. She beckoned him to continue his mission, then moved on to begin her own task of unzipping and unbuttoning her suit. Vakarian's fingers paused his zipper halfway down his chest as he watch with intensity while she slowly exposed her bare breasts to the air. Smooth, pale flesh shined in the hazy light of the presidium, high overhead.

He strengthened his resolve and hastily finished unzipping his uniform, lifting her butt from his groin to free the fully grown member trapped inside the rest of the suit. Shepard's small hands quickly pulled the thick shaft out, and stood above him, slipping out of her own tightly woven fabric.

* * *

Shepard suddenly remembered that she was extremely intoxicated due to the resulting headrush from standing so quickly. Hear head lulled to the side while she shakily finished her endeavor to rid herself of her awfully restricting clothes. When her body was naked and bare, she crawled back down to her nighttime lover.

"Shepard…I'm liking what I'm seeing." Vakarian flexed his mandibles in a Turian grin, and pulled the last of his torso piece off of his upper body.

He watched the woman's eyes move from shoulder to shoulder, face to chest plates, stomach to lower abdomen. She realized at the same time he did that his pants were still on, which was a problem. 5 fingered hands moved to the hem of the soft fabric, pulling at the ends down toward his feet.

No sooner than when the pants had been removed did the enticed C-Sec officer understand his companion's human lust. She had risen quickly above the length of his throbbing member, and before he could even ask if she wanted it, her body lowered onto him, swallowing his cock whole.

The female above him writhed and arched her back in pure ecstasy, gasping at the girth of his massive member. He watched her body, enthralled by its slick and smooth form. His own pleasure was creeping up on him with incredible intensity, forcing him to grab her hips and keep her still while he rested. He attempted to clear his mind, but she wasn't allowing him to think and any inkling of brain activity fizzled out as she resumed her magical hip movements. _Why didn't I ever think to try this sooner? _

Once again, his thought was drowned out into nothing at the feel of her wet folds moving and squeezing around him. It took all of his strength and willpower not to explode right then and there. He focused what little he had left of his sanity on the movements of her wondrous hips on top of him. Garrus barely felt her hands grab his wrists to pull them up enough for his fingers to reach two small bumps of extremely soft flesh. At the surprising new feel, he opened his pleasure glazed eyes to see his hands on each of her perfect breasts, holding their pliable masses as her body bounced rhythmically against him. Teeth gritted together for the male while the female counterpart held her mouth open as their sexes braced and quivered for climax. Shepard fell to Garrus's chest and gripped at his shoulder bones. She brought her lips crashing down on the alien's mouth plates, holding him captive as her thighs shook with her rippling orgasm. Garrus gasped at the new touch and rolled his eyes back before closing them in order to feel his own intense rush. The new wetness of the woman's climax brought his own sex to its breaking point and he bucked his hips as the girth pumped waves of hot fluid deep into her. He felt the lips part against his face as her tongue entered into his mouth, rushing him with an overload of senses.

Shepard began to pull herself off of his body when his pupils shrank and his mind came back. He grabbed her arms and held her in place, closing his eyes to regain composure before speaking.

"Just…just stay there. For a bit." Shepard made an 'o' with her mouth before settling back, pushing Garrus's still-hard member deeper into her. She earned a tonal groan from her lover, but froze when she felt what he had been talking about. The Turians' anatomy was becoming more apparent to her as she realized that his cock had inflated, proving difficult to hold it together. An intoxicated fever overtook her, giving her the second wind that was to be expected with this surprise. She began moving her hips once more, gasping and moaning at the expanded girth of the intrusion within her. It stretched her opening enough to speed her heart beat, and leave her wanting more.

Vakarian squeezed her arms in reflex and growled and pleaded with strain for her to stop. Not that it hurt, it was just too much for him. He was already extremely sensitive, and this was the icing on the cake. He was _definitely _experiencing a sensory overload, and he couldn't take it anymore. He felt her cum once again, her head thrown back and the muscles surrounding his cock pulsing and tightening around him. His body jerked as a second orgasm shot its way through him, exiting in the form of more fluid shooting into her now sweat covered body. As if this wasn't enough, he witnessed her hand move to the small bead of flesh above her lipped opening. Her fingers rubbed softly, causing her to scream in pleasure while her insides drenched his cock. A mixture of both of their cum leaked out around his now throbbing and pulsating member, pooling underneath them.

Shepard collapsed on top of his heaving chest, quivering and shaking in unsurmountable pleasure.

Gasping as if he had the wind knock out of his lungs, Garrus wrapped his arms around the woman's back. Stars floated into his periphery as he tried to blink them away. Everything around them rushed back into their heads while they came out of their sexual high. Sky cars honked their horns in the distance, and a faint whistling sound from nearby household air units made its way to their ears.

Still breathing heavily, Vakarian mustered up the strength to whisper to his companion.

"I'm tired, Shepard. Let's go inside." He almost laughed at the occurrence that followed. Shepard looked at him with fierce eyes, and proclaimed with an authoritative tone, "Don't you dare tell me that this is _your_ balcony, and that we could have been inside this _whole _time on a comfortable _bed_ instead of this awful concrete flooring?!" The Turian's mandibles flexed and squeezed against his face in a teasing defeat.

"Maybe." He thought for a second, then added coyly, "I had to christen the balcony at some point. But regardless of where we are, doesn't it make you happy to know there's a nicely made bed for us to fall asleep in?"

"…It better have silk sheets." Shepard grumbled as she lifted her body up, offering her hands to the Turian. He grabbed their discarded clothes and placed his hand on a small panel at the foot of the wall. Cracks appeared in the shape of a door to the right of the railing, opening to reveal a dark cavern of a room.

* * *

Much to her surprise, the room lit up as they entered, revealing a larger, more spacious living room than what she had initially expected. Relief reflected on her face as Vakarian saw her sprint for the now lit bathroom, returning with a satisfied expression and a roll of Bath paper for him. The man took it gratefully and made his way into the bathroom for his own turn at cleaning up.

* * *

As the couple laid in the now rustled bed, they relished in the feeling of having a warm body next to them. Each was unaware of the other's similar thoughts, and the two drifted off to sleep, their forms twisted and comfortable against eachother.

* * *

Garrus woke the next morning, cold and alone. Struggling in his grogginess to remember if the night before was a dream, he patted the other side of the bed lazily. Coming up empty handed, he groaned at the headache forming just behind his eye sockets. _ Another lost night. Why do I even bother?_ The liquor was hardly worth it, and the memory of one night alone with a beautiful woman seared holes in his brain. He'd be better off settling for a Krogan woman who knew how to cook. Snickering at his insane thoughts, he rose out of bed, picking up pieces of his armor strewn about the floor.

Resolving to once again forget the previous night, he began his morning routine before work.


	3. SR3: Discovering Murphy's Law

_As always, thankyou to everyone that has been reviewing and following my story. I know the chapters aren't very long, but this allows me to update quicker, but I do promise that Chapter 4 will be much longer. Hope you guys like this one._

* * *

Shepard was in a frenzy. Her ship was on its way to Eden Prime, home to quite a few human colonies as well as a decent amount of pirates and slavers. Routine was hardly the word she would use to describe this mission however, as the entire crew was up in arms regarding the presence of two strangers on board. The first and most suspicious was a Turian spectre. He had apparently joined the crew 5 days prior to Shepard's return from leave, causing her to be on edge upon setting foot back on the Normandy. The other, less unnerving addition to the crew was the famed Captain Anderson, war hero and veteran of the Alliance Navy. While Shepard harbored nothing but respect for the man, it was only natural for her to wonder at what secret the two were keeping from her.

A young Lieutenant interrupted her thoughts by handing her a datapad and signaling her respect through a quick salute. "What's this?"

The red haired soldier leaned in the slightest bit and dropped her voice to just above a whisper with her answer, "I found some more information that you requested, Commander, though it still doesn't explain why the two are here. Apparently there's been some comm chatter on the lesser used sub channels; different parties talking about the need for a Human in the Council, and the nervousness of the entire Citadel on recent Geth attacks."

Shepard wrinkled her nose slightly and furrowed her eyebrows in stern confusion. "Lieutenant, those two points you just mentioned have nothing to do with each other… Care to explain your reasoning as to how they're related?" Her finger flipped impatiently across the datapad screen as another crew member passed her a handful of leaflets on passable grouping variations. She felt a twinge of anger bubble in her temple when another crew member on the other side of the Deck called out her name in reprise, asking for her immeasurable talent with target-sight manipulation.

"Enough!" Bodies froze where their feet landed, and all eyes looked on in silent obedience to their seemingly fuming Commander. "The only sound I want to hear right now is the wonderfully dulling noise of fingers on keyboards. No one says a word until we touch down on Eden's surface-" She was ironically cut-off by Captain Anderson's deafening voice through the ship's loud speaker.

"Shepard, I'd like you to meet me in the Conference room for debriefing in about 5 minutes."

* * *

"So… I'm not kicked out?" Garrus Vakarian had been standing at attention in the small, 6' x 6' room, for roughly an hour, waiting for one of his commanding officers to arrive. He was expecting a full reprimand, complete with loud voices, clicking mandibles, and maybe even a few punches - depending on which officer came in. So he could barely hold back his surprise when a female officer entered the small room in civilian clothes, with nothing more than a cap to signify her rank. She stood in front of the offender, scrutinizing his eye movements.

"No. But this is only on one condition. A condition that I'm counting on you to fulfill, as I don't want to find out that my day was wasted coming here instead of spending time with my family…but I digress. Your new mission is to discover what exactly happened on Eden Prime, and who was behind it." The female Turian folded her arms over her chest and waited for his response.

"I…well. This is interesting. Don't you think it would be an easy out? All I would have to do is wait for the Alliance crew to return from Eden Prime and confront them."

"By that time, Vakarian, it will be too late. There are…suspicions. I've been doing a little research by myself, and as far as I can tell, you're the only one willing to chase after any real results. You want answers? You 'll need to find them yourself. Report to the Executor when you do get ahold of something." She patted him on the shoulder and left the room before he could even muster any sort of response. For the second time in just a week, he was left cold and alone; and confused as hell.

As he wandered aimlessly down the halls, he thought to himself of the night when he met the human woman. It was the first time he had even thought about getting close to a human; the worst part was that he _liked_ it. A lot in fact. So much to the point that he couldn't get her out of his mind. Her soft, light colored face materialized in his memories while he remembered with a shiver of the way she touched his torso. He hadn't realized that one could be caressed in so many varieties of patterns. Shaking his head, he sighed and continued toward the elevator.

Setting aside any fantasies that he would want to think about for the moment, Garrus realized that he didn't even know where to start. Up until his briefing with the female officer, he had prepared himself for a massive let down. He was actually expecting to be dismissed from the force, and had done everything he could to ready himself. For the past week, he had thought about all that he had ever accomplished with C-Sec. After crunching the numbers, it all boiled down to a solitary, depressing realization. He hadn't truly helped any mass of people. Sure, he had one or two who would thank him on the street for 'catching that thief' or for 'bringing my brother in law to justice'. The latter of which was a simple matter of determining which member of the family was more greedy than the others.

And whether he would ever admit it out loud or not, the simple jobs that he completed only made him angrier at the military. While he is on the Citadel, trampling down petty theft and fraud, there were battles being fought, colonies being crushed, and secrets being hidden from the public. This job, no matter how puzzling, would be the first thing he could be proud of for solving. He had the resolve and determination, he simply lacked the resources. _But not for long_. His mandibles twitched slightly as he thought of a certain hunch backed life form. His old hidden source. Garrus had no idea where he could possibly find him, but the options for the wretched being to hide were limited at best. The Turian would start at the lowest of the Wards, and move his way up. If he didn't find the source, then he would still be bound to overhear at least someone having a conversation about something they weren't supposed to.

So he set off. Upon reaching the markets, his sense of smell was immediately overwhelmed by the unmistakable stench of feces. Turning his head to the right and confirming his instinct, he watched in utter horror as two young volar children threw small wads of the disgusting matter at a frail looking Elcor.

Garrus reluctantly took hold of his pistol and pointed it lazily at the kids. "Fun's over, run back home for dinner." They screamed in high pitched, digitized tones and hobbled away. Without saying another word, Garrus grabbed a hanging towel from a line of clothes and tossed it on top the Elcor. He earned a wheezy thank you, and started down the path for the bar.

Where there was alcohol, there was information. He usually just needed to find the drunkest patron. He was rewarded with a sly human face, staring at him with beady eyes over a glass. The human watched him steadily as Garrus made his way to the empty seat next to him.

"You're not exactly who I was expecting to find, Harkin, but you'll have to do." He snapped his fingers for a drink. When Harkin didn't answer, Garrus turned to face him and spoke once more.

"What did you do with Elias?" He watched closely as the human male set down his glass and sighed in defeat.

"If I told you what happened to that mangy old fool, you'd get up and leave without shooting for more intel. Come on, Vakarian. I ain't stupid. Now he's gone, and I'm in his place – the one with all the information you can get. If it's prostitutes you want, I'm not in that business no more." When his drink was filled again to the brim, Harkin paused his soapbox speech for a swig. Garrus cut him off by inquiring about his mission.

"Tell me everything you know about Eden Prime."

"Oh, is that it? You just want all this information about a regular mission gone rogue and secretive? Might as well have asked me for rights to the damn Presidium." The man bitterly chortled at the Turian and had time to take several more sips of his drink before he was questioned again.

"Harkin. I know you have access to information now that the other…informant…is out of the picture. At least give me a head start. You've got to be just as curious about that mission as I am."

Harkin squinted his eyes in thought before pointing a finger at him, and nodding his head in approval. "You know, I actually am pretty interested. But I doubt you'll tell me about it when you do find something good. Tell you what; why don't you look for someone named Dr. Michel. She works in the Med Clinic. Word is, she's been having a bout of…interesting cases, involving a flurry of different organic races appearing badly wounded at her door. Last time I spoke to her, she had a patient with a hankering to meet with the Shadow Broker himself." Harkin lingered on his last sentence as if he had poison dripping from his tongue. But Vakarian had only become annoyed with the human's dramatic tale. He grabbed the collar of Harkin's coat and demanded more.

"Tell me. What. You. Know." Harkin's voice might have been secretive and venomous, but Vakarian's was low and dangerous. His sub vocals curled in the back of his throat as he verbally warned the informant. The human winced and put his hands up in front of him with defeat.

"Look, Vakarian, this is all I know. I spoke to her briefly when I went to pick up some medi gel, okay? I asked how her day was, she said not good, I asked why, and she followed up with what I just told you, in those exact words! I shrugged it off at first, but you seem like you might be able to make sense of her hectic day. Just leave me to tend to my growing drinking problem in peace. Damn, it's guys like you that make me drink in the first place." Vakarian growled and shoved the man away towards the counter. It was annoying enough that Elias was gone, but to have Harkin take his place? And not to mention Harkin seems to have been the reason for Elias's disappearance. Garrus mentally noted that he'll have to interrogate him later for that. For now, he needed to head to Executor Pallin to discuss any more leads on Eden Prime. He was more likely to know anything about it than any other informant he could ever meet with.

* * *

Shepard's boots clacked against the hard surface beneath her with an empty reverberation that rang through her hollow head. She was tired, and wanted to think about something, anything. But every time she tried, all that came to mind was the untimely death of two men. Eden Prime was not a place that she would have thought to have a battle on. Geth had overrun the small colonies, leaving only a handful of humans left. When confronted, they were of no help to her, and she could feel her heart blacken with rage at each step she took towards the enemy. Every corner they rounded was full of Geth attempting to blast their way through anything and everything. It was actually quite amazing that 2 of them had made it out alive; though the council hadn't entrusted her with this mission for nothing.

She turned the corner, forgetting about her squad trailing quietly behind her as she finally succumbed to the prying thoughts of the mission. Eden Prime was the very definition of the ancient "Murphy's Law". Everything that had a possibility of happening that day, happened. Not even two minutes after they touched down on the surface, her and her teammates were forced to fire waves upon waves of bullets. Corporal Jenkins had fallen first, being replaced shortly after by a new ally, the survivor, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. After tossing more Geth around, Nihlus's lifeless body was found, only for Shepard to discover that he was killed by another Spectre. As if everything hadn't gone wrong already at that point, she amazingly stumbled upon the beacon in Saren's sights, and used it before he could get to it, spiraling her through coded flashbacks and visions. _Next thing I knew, I woke up 15 hours later from a very short coma. _

"Commander, you alright?" A concerned Lt. Alenko asked her after he and Williams noticed Shepard's eyes practically burning holes in the wall by the balcony they were stopped at. She was jerked out of her self-induced trance and blinked a few times, her eyes stinging with tears.

"Yes," she managed to choke out before clearing her throat pointedly, "Let's start heading to the Council. I'm telling them everything, even if they don't want to hear it."

* * *

Exectuor Pallin looked on at the young Turian before him in utter disbelief. A measly C-Sec officer was talking back? After receiving direct orders? He thought he had seen everything.

"Look, Vakarian. I _ordered_ you to stay off this case. I told you what you wanted to know, and now that you know it, there shouldn't be anything more that you need to search for." Garrus gritted his teeth and bit his tongue lightly to stifle any rise in his voice before continuing.

"Executor, don't you see? The very fact that you have told me what's really happening is _more _than enough justification for me to keep going!"

"I am ordering you to Stand Down, Vakarian! The council doesn't have any more time to allow you to run around trying to find proof. There is a hearing in just a few minutes for Saren's guilt or innocence."

Garrus couldn't believe what was happening. The logical side of his brain attempted to soothe him by saying Pallin's behavior made sense. He was a 'by the law' Turian. Always had been, always will be. It's against the rules to have an officer continue to search for evidence during or after a hearing on behalf of the accused. But the side of Garrus that hated the by-the-book nature told him to argue. To point and get angry at the injustice.

"Saren's hiding something. Give me more time! Stall them."

Pallin shifted weight to his other leg in impatience and only raised an eyebrow at the officer's stubbornness.

"Stall the council? Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus."

* * *

_Garrus? Garrus…Vakarian?_ Shepard almost stopped completely at the sound of Vakarian's first name. She chuckled quietly to herself and chastised her inner mind to linking her one night stand on leave with the officer in front of them. But god, if it didn't look exactly like him. She watched in a dream-like state as the young Turian began walking towards Shepard and her squad. A knot formed in her throat and she struggled internally to fight the lump and swallow her sudden symptoms of nervousness. She noticed almost immediately the way Garrus's mandible flared outward slightly in a motion that was seared in her brain from just one night of seeing him; an arrogant, Turian smirk.


	4. SR4: Touching Foreheads

_As always, thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read my story. Thank you even more to those who take extra time to favorite, review, or follow. It's a nice feeling to log on and see a different, higher number for each of those stats. This next chapter is pretty fluffy, but I think it has been long awaited. Don't worry, it's not the end. Enjoy!_

* * *

Shepard and her shore party found themselves waiting at the entryway to the Med Clinic, where they were to speak with Dr. Michel regarding Garrus Vakarian's whereabouts. Against Shepard's will, the Turian male had snuck his way into the lonely recesses of her mind and burrowed, staying where few men had ever been prior. She wasn't one for relationships, which was made apparent to both parties involved on the night they met. It was supposed to be quick. She was about to return to the Normandy after leave, and her dimwitted Lieutenant could probably be held at least partially responsible for her brash and promiscuous actions. Alenko was a good soldier, but a horrible extrovert. It was only made worse when he attempted to counteract against his quiet, intro-personality by hitting on his commanding officer. A real charmer. So it wasn't a surprise when Shepard had made a target out of a lone Turian officer, sitting at his own table, people watching. She was already buzzed, and the fact that he wasn't even interested when she first sat down sparked a need in her bones from that moment on.

Outside of Shepard's clouded mind, she barely felt her hand push on the entryway button, granting the team access to the Clinic. They stepped inside, and there he was; crouched behind the front barrier, gun in ready position, finger over his mouth, and eyes locked on Shepard. There was no time to think, and in a spurt of mere seconds, pistols were drawn and shots were fired. In an instant, Dr. Michel's captors were floored and Garrus was inspecting the bodies.

.vVv.

Garrus Vakarian stared in awe at the newly appointed Spectre. Shepard had surpassed everyone's expectations, including his own. The first night they met had left Garrus with a poor first impression of the woman. Promiscuous and simple, just like every other female he's ever laid with. He couldn't have been more wrong about her. Here she was, proudly shining in front of the council, accepting one of the biggest honors bestowed upon any Citadel being. This prize is not awarded to just any one and his confidence towards her faltered as he wondered what she must think of him. If he had gained a poor first impression of her, he could only imagine what kind of self-image he had projected for her to judge.

So here they now stood, Commander Shepard and her newly found squad of Wrex and Garrus, awaiting entrance to the Normandy. "You guys ready?" Shepard turned around and flashed a beautifully excited smile before opening the hatch. They went straight for the command deck, where Shepard made a very moving speech to rally the crew behind her cause.

.vVv.

After Shepard's pep talk, Garrus Changed out of his armor in the Crew Quarters and proceeded to making his way to the Storage deck with a newly found purpose in his mind. Her words had filled his head and inspired him. He decided it was time to find a goal and make it his own – something for him to strive for. This goal was to help Shepard, no matter the cost. She had been nothing more than an acquaintance until now. After he boarded the Normandy, she became his Commander. And a Turian soldier is bred from a youngling to follow their Commanding officer into the depths of hell if he must. She was a true leader, born to cut through darkness and proven to pave the way towards victory; and he had fully realized it when watched her become the first human Spectre.

Her strength and courage towards the council sparked a fire inside him that he had never felt before. Her fierce justice was balanced with her merciful nature towards the weak; and it made his heart soar with inspiration and pride. Her leadership was what he had been waiting for.

Today he had finally found the courage within to call the one man in his life that he had ever been afraid of disappointing; his father. It was time to tell him where he was and what he was doing with his life. Garrus wanted to tell him everything, to let him know that he was fighting the ultimate fight for justice. He would be proud.

.vVv.

Shepard sliced through the thin skin of the delicate fruit she held. The fruit yielded perfectly tender, deliciously pinkish-purple meat inside. Her mouth watered, ready to taste the first bite. Ashley told her it was called a "fig". Williams claimed she bought it from a legitimate source, but Shepard knew otherwise. Most fruits bought anywhere in the Citadel were cloned from single, ancient seeds and grown in water tanks. Naturally, they tasted a bit watered down from the environment they matured in. They lacked the vibrancy in both pigment and taste, which Earth fruit had. It was only the experimental researchers who knew exactly how to grow their cloned fruits and vegetables. Most of them used a small alien bacterial agent, found on small asteroids in the terminus systems. The bacteria was deemed illegal, as it is lethal to Volar. That didn't stop people from using it. Those beings who weren't affected by the bacteria loved the fruit that was grown with it. And of course, high demand meant even higher prices. When Shepard commented that she must have given a pretty penny for it, Williams only replied that she had to pay her commander back somehow for saving her life. It was with a grateful heart (and hungry stomach) that the Commander had accepted the delectable item. But she wanted to share it with someone. Not knowing exactly where he had gone, she had wandered the first two decks of the Normandy, waiting to take a bite. When she reached the elevator to descend to the bottom floor, she couldn't help herself any longer, and divulged in its bliss. The small piece that she had cut was everything she had hoped and dreamed of. When the elevator door finally opened to the Cargo hold, she quickly swallowed and hid her hands behind her back. Garrus was in the far corner of the hold, talking to someone on his terminal next to the MAKO. As she took her first steps toward her new alien friend, her thoughts wandered to when they had first met.

The memories of that night were still fuzzy, and she wasn't sure if she would ever remember all of it. Shepard mentally crossed out that first night and replaced it with their second meeting, the one that she had never expected.

_He had called her Commander Shepard. His tonal voice seemed to dig roots into her soul and she struggled to keep her mouth in a line, rather than letting it curl into a smile. Butterflies clouded her gut and she suddenly felt the urge to jump on him and shower him with kisses. – What? It was a one night stand, not a love show. She slapped her inner self and focused on what he was saying. His words blurred and meshed together again as his sub vocals vibrated through her suit and attacked her loins. She gulped as she fought herself for control. Logic told her that she was not supposed to be feeling this way about a Turian. She was a human, and she was drunk when she did it. But Emotion fought its way through and whispered sweetly to her that it meant a little more than that. It told her that the one night stand would never have happened if they didn't have chemistry. Drunk or not, it can't be faked. Shepard regretfully ended the conversation with Garrus on a dull note due to her internal struggle. She barely said a word when Alenko urged her toward the council, and regretfully walked on past the Turian._

Blinking her eyes to bring her back to reality, Shepard resolved with herself that her Emotional side was right this time. She was about to take her crew into the depths of the galaxy, chasing after a lunatic who had every resource at his disposal. It was suicide, and she owed it to her feelings to ignore her logical half and live a little. She playfully snuck to one side of the MAKO, making sure to stay hidden from the Turian's view. As she inched closer however, she realized with regret that it might not have been the best time to come down here. Garrus was in a heated argument with… his father? Shepard gulped and inwardly panicked. She didn't want to accidentally eavesdrop on him. She had turned on her heel and was about to take a step away from him when his strong, dual-toned voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Commander, what are you doing down here." The sentence had come out sounding more like a statement rather than a question. Shepard heard the anger in his voice and felt the vibration of his sub vocals lingering in his throat with frustration. Turning around, she smiled at him softly and decided against bringing up any instigating queries. Instead, her arm extended from behind her back, her hand revealing a small green and pink lump. Garrus raised an eyebrow plate and glanced thoughtlessly at the fruit. He wasn't interested in what she had, and disappointment reflected in the woman's face. Garrus noticed her expression with regret and forced himself to look once more upon the fruit with strained curiosity.

Even in his anger, he couldn't stand to see her facial features bearing a sad look. He gingerly plucked the fruit from her small hand and took a tiny, trying bite. It was sour and bitter, and he winced as his tongue flicked out in disgust.

"This isn't good, Shepard. It's… bitter; are you sure it's ripe?" Taking the fruit back from the ungrateful Turian, she stubbornly put a hand on her hip, and finished the fruit. She stared at him the whole time, exaggerating each bite and chewing longer than she needed to. Garrus huffed impatiently and turned away from the woman, opening the driver's door of the MAKO and climbing inside. Shepard realized that he didn't want to be spoken to, and that gave her even more of a reason to climb in after him. _You might not want to talk, but that doesn't mean I'll let you do what you want._

The Turian rolled his eyes and crossed him arms when she climbed inside. He was becoming more and more irritated at her actions. Why couldn't he simply be left alone? He quickly opened his door and jumped out of the vehicle, slamming the door behind him.

He heard a muffled '_What the hell?!_' from inside the tank and he sped his pace in an attempt to get away from the prying woman. He turned around and watched her stomp her way towards him. If he wasn't so angry, he would have been amused – she looked ridiculous. Preparing himself for another bout of yelling, this time from a female, he closed his eyes lazily and crossed his arms.

A few seconds passed and he slowly creaked open one eye, wondering why it was so silent. His gaze met hers, and he opened both eyes when he noticed how close she was. Shepard was standing directly in front of him, staring sharply with big eyes into his face. Instead of a chastising tone, her mouth opened and her voice travelled to his ears in a soft, reassuring manner.

"I want to give you a tour of the Normandy. I know you're upset about something, so maybe this will help take your mind off of it? Follow me." She reached for his arm and pulled him towards the elevator, ignoring his bewildered expression.

.vVv.

She was a good tour guide. Garrus pushed the anger in his brain aside as he thought of the possibility of her working in the tourism branch in a past life. But the thought was short lived, and his mind reverted to thinking upon the conversation with his father. Shepard's voice was drowned out by a replay of the disappointed and strict voice of the old Turian officer, rebuking his only son. Garrus had only wanted his respect, instead receiving nothing but contempt. His father yelled at him, hated him for quitting the family tradition of C-sec. He accused him of being weak and afraid, and called Shepard a vagabond and criminal for being a Spectre.

Garrus leaned weakly against the nearest wall, closing his eyes once more and clenching his fists in anger. His mind reeled and raced into thoughts of frustration but stopped when he heard his name escape the lips of the woman in front of him. Her questioning voice brought him back, and he opened his eyes as he determined that there was only one thing that he wanted at that moment; and it wasn't a tour of any ship.

Without thinking, he grasped her arms and moved her, backing her body against the wall. His heightened senses heard her voice quiver and felt her body tense. He was grateful when she sighed softly, allowing the Turian some time to grasp the words he was trying to say. Finally, he was able to piece them together.

"Shepard, I…" He kept his strong hands on her arms and leaned in to rest his forehead against hers. "I need a favor." His voice was low, making Shepard shiver under his touch. She swallowed and was barely able to find her voice in reply to him.

"I know you're upset with your father…I heard you-" Her words were muffled and stopped with Garrus's hand gently covering her mouth. Slowly uncovering it when he was sure she wouldn't say anything more, he spoke again.

"Please, Shepard…Just don't bring that up. All I've been doing for the past hour is thinking about that conversation. Your tour was great… and the Normandy is a remarkable ship," He paused, taking in a deep breath before continuing. His forehead leaned into hers some more, and he dropped his hands from her arms to bring them around her waist. He tightened his grip around her and pressed their bodies together.

"But I don't need you to _help_ me think about things. I need you to _stop_ me from thinking. My brain has been buzzing with anything and everything…and I just…I just need it to stop. Get in there, and stop me from thinking. Just for a little while."

He felt the woman's spine ripple and he felt her hot breath on his mouth as she sighed. She brought her arms up and over his collar, bringing her face so close to his that her lips brushed against the skin that covered his mouth plates. Garrus closed his eyes and thought back to their first date, trying to conjure the image of the first time she had pressed her lips into his. He could vaguely remember it, and he pulled her even closer to him. He needed to feel it again. They were sober this time, and all of Shepard's human quirks were very prevalent and obvious to him now. Despite her alien feel, he lost himself in her touch and let the woman take lead for him to follow.

Surprisingly, Shepard pulled away from him and leaned to the side. Ignoring the disappointed rumble from his throat with a smirk, she reached her arm around him and found the switch on the wall, opening a door behind them. Garrus questioningly looked around and realized that her tour had ended at the Captain's quarters, leaving them burning each other up with desire right outside her bedroom. He stepped in after her and watched with much interest as she typed at her terminal, keying in passcodes to lock the entrance. When she was finished, she returned to him and once more wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. Where were we?" She whispered softly while pushing her body into him. His hands found their way around her waist again, feeling the muscles underneath the fabric of her clothing. His fingers reveled in the smooth feel of her human torso, but his mouth remembered what they really wanted and he returned his forehead to hers once more. Nuzzling his nose against her cheek, he rumbled his sub vocals in satisfaction. Shepard realized after much thought that he must have been putting his face on hers because he wanted a kiss. _This body language must be universal._ She closed her eyes and slowly pressed her lips against his mouth, giving him what he wanted.

.vVv.

She had succeeded in stopping the Turian's thoughts. His mind went blank, and all of his senses seemed to pour their feeling into that one spot on his face. Blood rushed to his groin and his stomach turned with nervous excitement as he felt her smooth, soft lips against the plates of his mouth. The rough skin that covered the hard bone of his face still had many nerve endings, and this fact was very quickly making itself known to him. Garrus never imagined that Shepard's lips could feel so good against his own. He barely became aware of more feeling, happening all over his body. Her hands had moved to the back of his head and neck, evoking shivers. She pushed him more into her lips, deepening their kiss. The pressure felt even better than before, but she didn't stop there. Slowly, she opened her mouth, moving her lips in circles around his. Garrus was curious, but afraid of messing up their chemistry. After a few more circles, her lips paused, then resumed their hypnotic motion, beckoning him to follow. He hesitantly obeyed, very cautiously opening and closing his jaw to mimic her movements. He thought he was being punished when she pulled her head away, but realized that it was a reward as Shepard jumped up, wrapping her calves around his waist and resting her thighs on the ridged joints of his hips. Garrus had no choice but to catch her before she fell, and he let himself chuckle when he realized which part of her body he had grabbed. He quickly changed his chuckle to a growl however, when he watched her face turn from a smile to a seductive luster. She grinded her pelvic bone against him and motioned for him to take them to the bed.

Vakarian happily complied, carrying her light form to the other end of the room. He lowered her gently underneath him and crawled on top of her, letting some of his weight relax against her body. Small hands found their way to his face, and he sighed contentedly as he allowed her free roam. He watched her eyes move around with longing. _She's driving me crazy._

Garrus swallowed the need to pound her hard and fast right then and there. This was a special moment, and he refused to ruin it with Turian lust. Sex was a casual affair among his people, and this was the polar opposite. The human kisses and human touching were so different for him, but he loved it. He was curious, and every question he thought of about a different human action was answered with an alien feeling that sated his desire. So far, the remarkable woman underneath him had showed him why kissing was so great. No wonder humans took part in it so often. This next lesson of facial caressing was just as satisfying for him.

He closed his eyes and relaxed into her touch, allowed a low, steady rumble to emanate from his chest. One of Shepard's curious hands reached for the source of the rumbling, resting on the center of his chest to let him feel the warmth of her palm. Her other hand continued to move around his face, finding sensitive areas and rubbing with small amounts of pressure here and there. He let her know when she reached a spot that felt good by intensifying his sub vocal. Garrus opened his eyes to look into hers when he felt her hips push against him. He returned the pressure, and leaned down for another kiss. He mentally congratulated himself for knowing the body language to indicate wanting another kiss, and continued with his learning endeavor. Feeling more confident this time, he applied pressure against her mouth and began slowly opening his jaw to illicit movement from her lips.

Shepard once again surprised him when he felt her tongue slip inside his parted mouth, feeling and moving around the inside. This new feeling was invigorating for him, and he pushed his pelvis into her even more. The woman felt his interest in the newly taught human action, and she continued to gyrate her tongue around. Garrus finally got the hint, and touched his tongue to hers. Hesitant at first, he began to get used to the feeling, and they started moving their tongues more fervently against each other, taking turns exploring the other's mouth before fighting playfully for domination. Garrus finally pulled away, taking a breath before speaking.

"Does this have a name? Is this…normal for humans to do?" Shepard smiled and pulled his head into the crook of her neck. She affectionately stroked his fringe and answered his question while nuzzling her cheek against his mandible.

"It's called French kissing. As much as I would like to take credit, apparently people in France created it a long time ago." Garrus lifted his head and touched his forehead to hers, laughing quietly. His voice was low and husky, the primary vocal chords twisting around his sub vocals, vibrating his chest against her.

"How pretentious of them to name it after themselves." He flared his mandibles out in surprise that he had gotten a very girly giggle from Shepard. When she quieted down, she brought her hands to his face again and locked her eyes on him.

"Do you like it?" She searched his face for a clue and sighed with relief when she found it in his relaxed mandibles. She had come to figure out that clenched jaw muscles meant virtually the same thing in almost every sentient species. Shepard gave a small peck to his mouth and readjusted herself, opening her pelvic muscles to him as she re-wrapped her legs around him.

Garrus knew this display of body language well and shivered as heat gathered in his groin at the feel of her openness to him. He showed her more silent language as he tugged lightly on the hem of her shirt. Together they stripped themselves of their clothing and returned to their positions on the bed, sighing and relaxing at the feel of their warm skin against each other.

They had done this before, but this time was different. Garrus stroked and caressed Shepard's soft body, memorizing every dip and curve, every bone and blemish. He drank in the light hue of her perfect skin. His fingers moved up to cup her face, and he mentally made note that his favorite part of her was her cheeks. They were soft, and warm. It was amusing for him to think that even when Shepard was fully clad in armor and on a mission, her cheeks stayed the same. Your eyebrows, eyes, and mouth together on her face made for a menacing look when she was angry. But Garrus realized that all he would have to do is picture only her soft cheeks and he could never possibly be intimidated by her. He brought his now unburdened mind back to the woman as he buried his face in her hair. He let his hand wander down to her breast, fondling and squeezing lightly. Soft moans escaped her perfect lips as he felt her body curl and tense under him.

His hard groin was fully erect by the time he finished teasing the mounds on her chest. He prodded the surface of her opening, purposefully lingering at the outside. He watched as she grabbed at his arms, begging in short, breathy whispers for him to please enter. Garrus couldn't handle her any longer and slowly pushed his member inside her, groaning at the tightness of her lips around him. She gasped at the girth and pulled his body back to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. Garrus inhaled the sweet scent of her hair deeply before pushing his hips more and more until he was completely inside her.

Shepard released exasperated mewls and moans into his ear. He used both vocals to whisper fragmented sentences in reply to her moans. His hips continued to alternately push in and pull out, increasing in speed. Shepard cried out in ecstasy when Garrus began pounding his hips hard into her. He relished the sound of her cracking voice and focused only on holding back his release. Her vocal responses to every single one of his actions was enough alone to make him come.

"Garrus…I…I'm going to come!" Shepard whispered to him in between his thrusts. He moved his hand to her clit and rubbed slowly, smirking when she writhed at his touch. He felt her teeth bite into the skin on his shoulder and he clenched his mandible in elation at the mixture of feeling throughout his body. He let out a low groan as his climax was reached, exploding his seed into her quivering lips.

Garrus relaxed on top of her and asked into her shoulder if he was too heavy. Shepard's only reply was one last moan as her vaginal muscles clenched and pulsated around his cock, orgasming from the small thrusts that he had continued even after he came.

Garrus opened his eyes after listening to their breathing for a few minutes . He cupped Shepard's cheek and clicked his teeth at her teasingly.

"Will you be here when I wake up this time?" Shepard squinted her eyes at the Turian before enveloping him in a comforting hug.

"Only if you promise not to take over so much of the bed," She kissed his mandible, then his mouth, then his nose, and finally his forehead. Her mouth lingered against his skin before she turned her head downward to press her forehead against his, as he had done to her so many times.

"Does this have a name? I see Turian couples touch their foreheads every once in a while," She whispered as her eyes closed, and she gulped down her nervousness at the question. Butterflies floated into her stomach again, as she anxiously waited for her companion's response. She knew the answer already and couldn't understand why it made her so nervous. She resolved that it was more the anticipation than anything.

.vVv.

Garrus took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. He didn't know if she would be put off by the answer to her question. He took her lead and closed his eyes as well, deciding that it still wasn't time for him to think yet. So he spoke, fearlessly saying exactly what the woman wanted to hear, unbeknownst to him.

"It's a sign of affection. Turians do it when…" He paused briefly to gather more confidence before revealing the answer.

"It doesn't have a name…but...it's an action that Turians do when…when they love eachother."


	5. SR5: To Be With You is Easy

_Hello Readers. Thank you to everyone that has been reading, and thank you so much to those reviewers who have been reviewing every chapter! Seriously, it means a lot. _

_Now here are responses to a review and PM that I thought would be good to address to everyone:_

_**Is this Shepard the default Jane Shepard?**__**Because to be honest, I avoided your previous fic because of that strange name you gave you Shep. **_

_LOL. Yes, this Shepard is the default 'Jane Shepard'. I wanted to see the reception difference between stories if I switched up the name. Jane just seems like such a boring name for someone so amazingly vital in the galaxy. I'm thinking about having a vote on names for the next story at the end of this one; which is still pretty far out, so don't worry._

_**Just wondering because I see it in a lot of other stories, aren't Shepard and Garrus's bodies incompatible because they can be allergic to eachother? You know, dextro and levo and all that? And on another note – is it okay to make requests of a character? Like say…if I wanted to see a little bit more aggressive or angry Garrus?**_

_First and foremost, while the Mass Effect game did mention (through Mordin) that there could be allergic reactions, I personally believe that it is an exaggeration. The food part I understand, and it makes sense for a variety of different (metabolic) reasons. But as far as them having sex, they're travelling in space! And it's the 22__nd__ century. No one can sit here and tell me that soldiers don't go through all kinds of immunizations and/or receive implants or take detox pills or SOMETHING to prevent illness on board the Normandy. I just think it's a little silly that they don't have preventative measures given their advances in technology. _

_Secondly, it is perfectly fine to make requests, I just can't always guarantee that it will be fulfilled. I can assure you however, you will be seeing a much more aggressive Garrus soon. I've been trying to save it for when Shep dies. Obviously, it will be devastating for him, both mentally and personality wise; but I'll see what I can do in the meantime._

_And on that note, I am very interested in this "mass effect kink meme" that I keep hearing about, but I don't have a livejournal or whatever place it originates; plus I'm just downright lazy. So PMs are always welcome if someone wants to make a story request._

_Now enjoy the chapter! (It's extremely fluffy)_

.vVv.

A bright light seared through a single closed eyelid, waking the sleeper beneath. Garrus slowly opened the eye to a purple screen, shining blue and white alternately in alarm. 5:55 am. He impatiently clicked off the visor, and swung the device onto the bedside table. Why does he always forget to take it off? He pays for it every morning. Already stretching the free arm, he attempted to move his other arm to follow suit when he realized something warm was holding it in place. He rolled his head toward the warm body sleepily, inadvertently tangling his mandible in a few strands of dark hair. They smelled of…fruit. Human fruit.

_Mmmm._

He closed his eyes and sniffed again, then again. Finally he took one long breath, savoring the tangy scent, before he gently pushed his nose into the source of the hairs. He rubbed and nuzzled into a warm, soft, fruit-smelling scalp. Alternately sniffing and mumbling to himself, he adjusted his body as close to his companion's as he could get, taking care not wake its sleeping form. Alas, the slightest movement caused a rippling effect in the bed, waking the woman next to him. A tiny noise escaped her lips as she breathed in deeply and turned her body to face him, all the while stretching. Garrus positioned his chin above her head, flicking his mandible in thought.

_She's…cute._ He blinked a few times, picking apart what he had just mentally confirmed. _Can Shepard even be called cute? _ As if in reply to him, Shepard moved in his arms once more, curving her face upward. Her nose was now in the crook of Garrus's neck, nostrils gently blowing air on his hot skin. He wrapped both arms around her tightly after the gesture, showing her his acknowledgement of her nuzzle. It was a sentimental motion, whether she was awake or not. Turians always showed their lovers signs of their feelings, and nuzzling faces was among the best signals. It showed the understanding of one's vulnerability, and proved to the one receiving the nuzzle that they were trusted enough to have the lover's face in such close proximity. Garrus sighed contentedly and rubbed small circles into her back with his talons. He wondered if human culture had the same loving gestures that Turians did. It didn't matter now, he felt as if he had the rest of his life to find out with her.

As if in response, Shepard peeled her eyes open reluctantly, but was instantly comfortable after feeling her lover's talons gently scratching her back. She felt like she woke up in heaven. The bed was wonderfully warm and comfortable, and she had a muscular man to use as a body pillow. What more could be asked for? She giggled and curled her lips into a puckered smile, kissing the curve of her Turian's neck. His skin twitched slightly at her touch, but she felt him stretch his neck as an invitation for more. She kissed again, then pecked a few more times. The kisses were light and soft, instigating a low rumbling vibration from deep within his chest. Shepard pressed her palm against the source of the vibration, listening and feeling Garrus's vocal satisfaction.

"Does _this _have a name?" Her soft, groggy voice airily floated to his ears, awakening his senses further and drawing his eyes open once more.

"Does what have a name?"

"This grumbling…growling that you do sometimes."

Garrus chuckled lightly and pulled her body closer to his chest, increasing the tempo of his sub vocal vibration for her to feel.

"I don't think there's a name for it. I guess I do it when something feels nice, or if I'm happy. I don't really pay attention to it."

Shepard gave a soft hum in reply while she continued to press her palm on his chest. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she spoke again.

"So touching foreheads together…that's a sign for love?"

Garrus tensed his muscles for a moment before loosening them when he felt Shepard's palm on his torso again. She hadn't brought up the subject since the night they had first slept on the Normandy together. He had been on the ship under her command for roughly a month now. Almost every day was spent either calibrating various aspects of the ship, researching the enemy, or taking part in some hazardous mission. The nights however, made every long and tiring day worth while. Shepard invited him to her room, some nights crawling next to him with a basic need for a body, and other nights grasping his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his waist with a demand for his love. Each time, he gave her exactly what she wanted, secretly sating his own desire for the woman at the same time.

It almost didn't surprise him that she brought it up today, of all mornings. Their previous night of love making had hit an all time high. It was lustful, yet romantic. Rough, yet comforting. When they had finished their bout of ecstasy, they curled up in the bed sheets, holding the other as if they would never let go. Shepard had fallen asleep in his arms not before sweetly kissing up and down his neck. Garrus had laid awake next to her for quite some time, caressing her cheek and drawing her closer to his chest, willingly accepting the warm surge of love blossoming for her in his heart.

He knew she felt the same way, and he knew that when she asked her question this morning, she wanted to hear a certain answer. This was how women were. Even Commander Shepard, first human Spectre, woman who surprised them all, could be amusingly predictable at times. Even though she had asked about the meaning of 'forehead touching', what she really wanted to ask was "_Do you love me"._

And the answer was yes. _Spirits, I can't believe this is real._ The answer had always been yes. No other woman had ever made Garrus do the things he did for her, or feel the way he did about her. Besides always watching her back, holding her six on the battlefield, he watched her emotions. Hell, what else was he going to spend his time doing on the ship between missions? Even when they were on missions, there was always at least a few minutes of downtime, and Garrus took full advantage of every chance he got to study his Commander's movements and mannerisms.

At first it had all been so alien to him. They had met with a drunken one night stand, then parted the next morning without so much as a thought. Neither had imagined they would ever meet again; but Garrus wasn't one to forget so easily. He wondered if she would remember him if they were to meet again. To his surprise, they did meet once more, both parties remembering the other very well. She had invited him onto her crew, to which he gladly accepted, and thus began his slow spiral into becoming enamored. The ship was Turian, but her commanding style was one he had never seen before. A mixture of Human, Turian, and something else. Perhaps some personification of mercy or compassion. Whatever the combination, it suited her well, and gained the respect of all personnel on the ship, especially Garrus.

She started taking him along with her on each assignment, cycling through the crew with the third member, but always making sure Garrus was present. They worked well together, and suddenly her human mannerisms weren't so alien; the way she slipped on her armor, the way she held her gun, the way she trotted lazily when there wasn't a sign of danger. He began to see her as beautiful, the way one would look upon a person of the same species.

Yes, Garrus Vakarian was in love with Commander Shepard. Which was exactly why he wasn't going to give in that easily. He knew what she wanted to hear, and Spirits be damned if he didn't want to give it to her. But that wasn't how he worked. He loved her, which meant he loved everything about her, including the way she huffed impatiently and demanded what she wanted when it wasn't given to her.

"…Yes, touching foreheads is a sign for love." He flared his mandibles out in amusement when he felt her squirm and breathe in his encircled arms. Her trademark huff could be heard, exemplifying her stubborn nature.

"So why did you do it to me?"

Garrus closed his eyes lazily and ran his talons through her hair. "Why did I do what, Commander?"

"Why did you touch your forehead to mine?"

"…Because…I wanted to." He took his time with the words, enjoying her impatient wriggling at his answers.

Joker's voice interrupted their slow talk with the day's schedule and wake up call. 6:00 am. With wide eyes, Shepard pushed out of Garrus's arms and launched herself over his now sprawled body. She rolled quite clumsily onto the cold floor then stood lightly and began combing her hair with her fingers on her way to the bathroom.

"Your mandibles must have taken quite the rough up last night from my hair. There are kinks in it that you wouldn't believe!" He heard her exclaim to him through the sound of running water. Garrus laughed and rubbed his face with his hands, waking himself as best he could before leaving the warmth of the messy bed sheets. He looked around in proud amusement at their clothes in two neat piles where they had left them the night before. It gave him a comforting and redeeming feeling. He was here, in her room, listening to the sounds of her morning ritual. If he had to stay in this room with her forever, he would be fine with that. He stepped into the bathroom, joining Shepard's body in the view of the mirror. They both looked at their reflections, gathering how they looked next to one another. Their bodies were so different; and yet, it seemed perfectly fine. Shepard smiled through her toothbrush at him, and Garrus returned it with an outward flick of his mandibles and a rub of her arm with his fingers. He walked over to the toilet and began relieving himself. He heard a surprised shriek followed by laughter, then a playful smack on his buttocks. He could get used to this.

.vVv.

"Will you tell me now why he was staring at you like that?" Garrus questioned as he lifted his new box of weaponry from the Cashier's counter. After breakfast on the Normandy, Shepard dismissed the crew for approximately 6 hours of shore leave for resupply of stock. Joker had docked them overnight at a small outpost station just off of the Citadel. Food was cheaper here, there was less traffic, and the guns were better. In fact, the only time Shepard ever shopped for any type of weaponry was when she was docked at this station, Vox-2. It was one of 4 outposts placed strategically around the Citadel to warn of intruding enemy vessels. Since all they really had to watch out for were Mercenaries and the occasional "lost" Vorcha vessels, the stations had declined a bit, slacking in their guard and gaining lenience with passersby who traded goods. People had begun to set up shop, and one by one, all 4 outposts were converted to semi-guarded "mini malls" so to speak.

Garrus took a seat at a bench and opened his box of items like a child on Christmas. His hand reached in and resurfaced with two new heat sinks in hand. Putting one in his pistol, the newly bought upgraded heat sink clicked into place with a light hiss and pop – the trademark sound of the glue seams pushing air through its rivets as it locked in place. He looked at Shepard with a corny flare of absolute satisfaction, to which Shepard couldn't help but laugh at.

"Having fun with your new toys?" She reached for the other heat sink, handling the cool metal block with delicate fingers.

"Shepard, don't dodge the question again. You said you would tell me after we bought our stuff."

Grabbing the heat sink from her, he placed it back in the box and rested his hands on his knees, awaiting her answer. Shepard sighed exasperatedly and slumped forward. This wasn't something she wanted to talk about. She had known this talk had to happen sooner or later. Of course, she had simply wanted to avoid it altogether. But her encounter with Kaiden Alenko that morning in the mess hall was more than enough reason for her to go through with this discussion with Garrus.

Forcing herself not to think about the reaction Vakarian would have, she pushed the words out of her mouth with much effort.

"Alenko heard us having sex." Her eyes squeezed shut in reaction to hearing the words with her own ears, as if she couldn't believe what she had just said. If it was that bad to her own mind, she could only imagine how bad it sounded for the Turian. But when she slowly peeked her eyes back open to look at him, his only reaction was a lazy blink and a miniscule motion of rubbing his neck with a hand.

"Ah…that's it, Shepard? Is this some human thing where if you hear a couple having sex, it's offensive..?"

Shepard opened her mouth, then closed it again to think a bit more before answering. Normally, hearing someone have sex is something that you would tease them about. Chakwas had taken advantage of that opportunity many a time aboard the Normandy. But the offensive bit, that only happened when jealousy reared its head. She hadn't actually realized that Alenko might have been jealous when she saw him.

* * *

_She kissed the Turian male softly on his mandible before grabbing her jacket and leaving the small room. He still had to put his clothes back on, and she needed to alert the crew of their surprise shore leave. She exited through her doorway and rounded the corner, only to bump right into an unexpected crew member, Kaiden. She really should have expected to see him immediately due to the proximity of his station to the Captain's quarters. But she was shocked nonetheless. She gulped and addressed the lieutenant as she would any other day._

"_Good morning LT. Ready for breakfast?"_

_He stood before her, motionless and tired. He had the look in his eye that gave away that he had stayed up all night. Shepard inwardly cringed as she remembered all of the sounds that must have emanated through the cracks of her door seal. Damn Turian and his stupid, sexy, wonderful body. She locked her eyes with Kaiden and almost fell to the floor when she heard what came out of his mouth next._

"_I can't believe you would do anything like that with a Turian."_

_Kaiden visibly shrunk and put his fist to his mouth after saying those damning words. He bit the flesh on his hand and squinted, waiting for his Commander's onslaught._

_It never came. Shepard simply stood before him, eyes closed, hands folded behind her back. When too much time had passed, she finally turned and walked toward the Command deck, bypassing the mess table and her breakfast._

* * *

She shook her head and leaned back against the bench, slumping.

_She only does that when she's upset. _Garrus moved closer to her, his eyes searching and scanning her face for any sign that would give away what she was feeling. He found only the faint gleam of regret, and his thoughts were confirmed with her next sentence.

"Garrus…I think we should tone our relationship down. If it bothered one person, I can think of a couple of others that it would bother as well." She sighed deeply and grasped his hand. Her fingers were heavy and rested lifelessly on his palm.

Garrus didn't understand, couldn't understand. Was she ending things with him? Over someone finding out that they fucked eachother? His body followed the suit of his commander and slouched next to her. Reeling his mind for an answer that he couldn't find, he growled angrily at the situation. On Turian ships, sex was an expected affair. That and fighting. In fact, it was made known to any and all soldiers that if they had any sort of sexual urge, to relieve themselves of it through any means necessary. It cleared the soldiers' minds and readied them for battle. Of course, sex with Shepard was much more than just a stress-reliever. He looked at the woman as if she was his, and he reveled in the fact that the same emotion was always reflected in her eyes towards him as well. This thought was not one that was easily acquired with most Turians, and it took a while for Garrus to even admit it to himself. These feelings and emotions were sparked through his love of a human, and amplified by her return of love towards him.

He was simply incapable of understanding why they were having this conversation. So he decided to voice his thoughts in the easiest way possible.

"Shepard, I am literally incapable of understanding what's going on here." He stared at her, hoping to make her realize that if she really was trying to break up with him, he won't just let it happen without a fight. He watched in utter confusion as her mouth curved into a lopsided smile and she breathed out a few wisps of a chuckle. Her hands were no longer heavy feeling, and they flew up to his face, resting on either of his mandibles.

"I'm not breaking up with you, Vakarian. Jeeze, how thick headed are you?" Her luscious lips mockingly kissed his mouth. Garrus was furious. She inadvertently made him feel all of these stupid emotions, only to tell him she was just kidding. He breathed in as deep as he could, and blew as much air into her face as he could muster. Shepard's face broke free from him and she whipped her hands back. When he realized the expression on her face was anything but happy, he knew he had gotten proper payback. So he sat patiently, folding his hands in his lap. She would explain her cruel joke sooner or later, he would just have to wait.

Her mouth huffed and Garrus watched as the woman crossed her arms and legs in frustration.

"Okay Garrus. Of course I'm not breaking up with you. But I can see that it's tough for you to understand this situation. Kaiden is jealous. And if he is upset about it, then soon everyone will know and also be upset about it. Not only that, but our mission is bigger than just our tiny crew. Saren must be stopped, and we can't do that when we're openly having sex and boasting about our relationship."

"But it's not like we're running around telling everyone that we're together."

"No, but we might as well be if we keep displaying public affections. So I think we should just keep it a secret for now okay? We should refrain from touching eachother all the time, and we definitely can't have impromptu sex scenes in the elevator."

"That was _one _time, Shepard. This morning."

She watched in mild amusement as the Turian next to her crossed his arms and turned away from her.

"So we won't display our relationship in public…is that an order?"

Shepard smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes it is, Vakarian."

.vVv.

The Normandy's crew was anything but energetic after they returned from the surface of Feros. The mission was a success by the book, though the lines of morality were crossed multiple times. Shepard's ground crew was a mess, and she considered it a failure for the most part. Garrus's chest piece was in shambles, leaving his torso bare and revealing gashes in his thick hide left from multiple almost direct hits from Singularities. Both of Shepard's heavy pistols were in pieces while her thigh plate was half hanging off of her body, blood pooling and hardening around the opening. Her omni tool was smashed, clamping its metal fittings and trapping her flesh underneath. Liara T'soni sat in the corner of the cargo hold, clutching her arms with bloody hands and crying through gnashed teeth. Her voice echoed through the beams of the large bay and hung heavy around the three broken figures. Silently, they shed themselves of everything they could and made their way to the medical room.

As Dr. Chakwas sealed the gashes in Vakarian's chest, Shepard paced back and forth across the room in deep thought. Joker had patched a message through the speakers while she was applying a layer of medi gel to her burnt thigh. Now, as she took step after step all around the small med bay, her thoughts travelled to Admiral Kahoku. The message was from Admiral Hackett of the Fifth Fleet. He informed her that the mutilated body in alliance uniform they found on Binthu was indeed Admiral Kahoku. Hackett explained quickly in the brief message that Cerberus was behind it, and after alliance personnel completed their autopsy, they found he had been experimented upon through the use of genetic tissue by needle injection.

Shepard had slammed her fist against a metal tray, crashing it down onto the hard floor. The message was infuriating, and not only because it reminded them of Kahoku's tragic death; but because the message also mentioned Cerberus. Of every encounter she and Garrus had with them, none of them were ever on good terms. What made it worse was that there was barely anything Shepard could do about it. Cerberus might be a morally wrong private sector, but they were hardly the real enemy here. They had bigger fish to fry, regardless of how nasty Cerberus came across as.

"They'll get what's coming to them one day, Commander. Just try to relax for now." Chakwas mumbled half to Garrus and half to Shepard while she closed the Turian's wounds.

"I know, doctor. But it doesn't change the fact that I have this…feeling. It doesn't feel right. This message sent something ominous down my spine. I need to do something about Cerberus but I can't right now. Not with how things are playing out with Saren."

Garrus cleared his throat and tried speaking in an attempt to take his mind off of the searing pain that a new needle in his flesh was providing him. "We shouldn't forget about Cerberus completely, but now is not the time to confront them. Saren is the biggest problem anyone has. It was only made even more prevalent with what Benezia said to us…"

Shepard sat next to him and lowered her head in mourning for the Asari. Liara had taken her mother's passing very hard, no matter the previous actions of the twisted woman before her death.

"You're all done Garrus. Just don't peel off the gauze fabric, it'll ruin the medi gel seal and unnecessarily expose the stitching to the air. Shouldn't hurt though. If you feel any more pain, come back to me and I'll have a look."

.vVv.

After the two left the med bay, they walked slowly to the crew quarters, talking about the day's events. They discussed strategy when they exited the elevator, spoke of formation improvements when they passed the mess table and by the time they reached the corner of the bay where the Captain's door was, they had replaced words with kisses while Garrus had his commander pinned to the wall.

He couldn't help himself. Garrus realized that it had become increasingly difficult to avoid contact with her completely, and when they did get to a place where they were alone, his body made it clear what was on his mind the whole time. He needed to touch her, to feel her tight muscles with his fingers, to have her wrap her small arms around his neck, to place his palms on her butt and grab as much of the muscle as his greedy hands wanted. Every time their faces came together was a burst of electricity in his heart that sent lightning bolts to each nerve ending in his body. The missions were terrible, but she made him feel alive after each one. Today wasn't any different, except for the fact that he didn't want to wait to grope and kiss her until they were behind her room door.

Feverish hands moved and slid all over cold armor as the two hot bodies intertwined their limbs around each other. He couldn't get enough of her and made it apparent by pushing himself into her even further, overloading her with sensory pleasures all over her body. Tongue in her mouth, arm around her waist, fingers between her thighs; it was all too much for either of them to handle. Each breathy gasp from Shepard made Garrus ache with want.

"Garrus…we can't…publicly…need to get…into the room first…" The Turian's onslaught deterred Shepard from properly getting her point across as he forced her to say her protest in between kisses. He paused his attack to lean his forehead against hers. He rubbed her arms gently before reminding her what kind of Turian he was.

"Sorry, Commander…I thought you would have known by now that I'm not very good at following orders."


	6. SR6: The Inevitable Filler

_Hello readers. I will take this time to apologize for such a late chapter! The beginning of college is always rough, but now that the first couple of weeks are through, I can get back to my normal schedule. This might be second to the real reason; I am suffering from a serious case of writer's block. However, I'm almost finished with the next chapter, and will be posting that one by Monday night. Therefore, I had to make this one a sort of "filler". _

_We're reaching the end of the timeline for the first game, so be ready for some serious changes in the coming chapters. _

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, and thank you to all of you that have stuck around for this long. _

_.vVv._

Shepard stared down the barrel of Wrex's gun, confidence faltering behind eyes of steel. She knew exactly why he was mad; knew just what had made him tick. And she understood his feelings and empathized with his people. But he didn't know that, and perhaps didn't want to know. Not now, anyway. But Shepard was determined to beat this. She needed to prove to this alien fiend that he had something more in her than just a human commander. He was so blinded by furry that he failed to see what his eyes showed him almost every day; Commander Shepard loved her crew. She made it clear with every word she said to each individual, every action she took for their benefit. Had it not been for the fact that there existed a deep-seeded appreciation for the woman before him, Wrex would have already pulled the trigger.

"I won't ask you again to put the gun down, Wrex. You're being brash and hard-headed."

There was that unwavering authority. His fingers curled and tightened their grip around the handle of the shotgun, heart beating through his index, urging the digit to place the tiniest bit of pressure on the trigger. Wrex's head swam with rage and indecisiveness while his insides twisted and lurched against opposing forces in an attempt to make sense of the jumbled words coming out of Shepard's mouth.

_She's right._

The gun lowered and dropped to the ground with a soft thud while the Krogan seemed visibly shaken in front of her. Such a large, daunting figure…and yet he was before her, smaller than ever in the eyes of shame. There were no words for the two of them to share any longer; both parties knew through body language what the closing thoughts to the argument were. Wrex knew that Shepard always kept a clear head, and that he _was_ being brash when thinking that an illegitimate army of krogan bred to kill for one certain Spectre was not the way to restore life to his dead race. Usually anything good takes hard work and determination to cultivate – this method of curing his people was the easy, sloppy way out. And it took the complete trust and reassuring of a human to help him remember.

As Shepard walked causually away from him towards the main tent of the camp, Wrex made his way to the other end. It felt like a walk of shame, and it couldn't end fast enough. All eyes were on the alien figure while he sauntered from the crime scene towards the one area that could make him feel better; the armory. It was a makeshift armory, along with a weapons modification bench, where he found the Normandy's lone Turian mixing and matching pieces of a few different assault rifles. The Krogan waited behind Garrus, watching carefully as deft fingers completed a piece and handed it to a patient Salarian next to him.

"You sure this'll work, Vakarian?"

"Oh it'll work, as long as your aim doesn't falter. If you stay focused, that gun will help you out of plenty of life or death situations. I know it's done me some good over these past few months." He stood, brushing metal shavings out of the crevasses of his armor plates where they had fallen and collected.

"Wrex. Did you have fun with your ocean target practice?"

"Watch it Turian. I didn't come over to your tent to be patronized."

Garrus crossed his arms and looked the angry alien over. He was still steaming from his earlier bout of rage, though he seemed restrained.

"Then what are you here for?"

"I need a new gun. Mine's an old one, and its time is up. Apparently shooting at fish in the distance repeatedly wears out an antique." He handed Garrus his weapon of old, passed down throughout the generations of warriors before him.

Garrus ran a finger across the top manifold of the shotgun as he thought to himself how wasted the weapon was. It was a strong machine, and could have been put to good use against rows of Geth, though not anymore.

With a curt nod after sizing up his project he returned to his work bench, immediately starting to hammer and pry at the metal fittings.

"I'll give you a gun…it'll just have to be a bit recycled. But you'll get something good, I promise."

.vVv.

How many hours had it been? Days?

"No, remember, if we've been fighting for a day, we would have seen the sun set. Did any of you even take Cosmological Geography and Physical Science 101? It's elementary."

"Garrus, I am _this_ close to shooting you in the head with my grenade launcher." A very distraught and tired Ashley Williams leered exasperatedly at the snarky Turian behind her. Her arm was raised at an alarmingly threatening level, pointing an accusing finger at her new found enemy.

"I've had enough of your comedic antics for one day!"

"But Williams, it hasn't quite been a da-"

He was cut off from his teasing response by the very near sounds of gunfire and screams over Shepard's comm. They had just barely finished off the last of the scouts and were preparing their omnitools for the setting up of a very dangerous bomb. Peace and quiet is what they wanted, however they were hardly ever given their needs on the battlefield.

Shepard became painfully aware of how many casualties they had taken when Garrus took over the controls, allowing her time to observe the carnage around them. She slowly brought her tool up to chest level, pushing the comm button in response to the distress call.

"Lieutenant, talk to me. I hear noise but nothing from you, what's your status?" Her free hand found its way to Garrus's shoulder to rest her weight on him while she listened. She could feel Ashley's prying gaze as she ignored her surroundings to focus on Alenko's response.

"Coming in hot…can't hold them off…too many…" While she could only make out bits and pieces of his message, she heard enough to know what kind of trouble he was in. Nodding to Ashley for support, she handed Garrus his rifle and tugged on the corner of his shoulder plate to follow. He left his omnitool with Ashley before gathering himself up and following closely behind Shepard.

.vVv.

Ashley Williams was a good friend to Shepard. But in this moment, the friendship was dying, deteriorating fast without any way of stopping it. Shepard put her face in her hands while the Lieutenant made her case against her Commander, informing her of why she disapproved.

The woman was angry, upset, frustrated and sad. Shepard agreed with those feelings, felt them as waves overtaking their tired bodies. They were both on the Normandy, depressed as hell and worn out to boot. The mission was a success, though not without extreme losses. The tiredness came from their moving constantly all day in the hot Virmire daylight. The anguish and tears came from the loss of a crewmember; Lieutenant Alenko.

Shepard had to make one of the toughest decisions of her life in choosing between him or the bomb. She was torn apart by the need for justice in the galaxy, and the love for a crew member and friend. Losing people on missions was not taken lightly by the Commander, and each new second aboard the Normandy without a key element to their crew was a new punch to her gut. Each face wore a bitter loss in the wirnkles, each voice raspy and dry.

Then why was she being yelled at? Williams had asked to speak freely and in a haziness, Shepard had granted permission. It wasn't until the voice raised to a higher volume, an angrier octave, that she realized what she had done. A lesser crew member was on the verge of full out yelling at her commanding officer because of a battle action that she disagreed with.

This was not how mourning was supposed to go. Shepard was sad, yet she felt rage building in the pit of her stomach as she listened to the feeling pouring from William's mouth. She missed Alenko, but she'd be damned if she sat there and took unjustified accusations like a dead fish.

"Williams! Enough." She closed her eyes in relief as the accusing words faded to a squeak before dying out completely. When she reassigned her vision to the woman in front of her, she watched as Williams clenched her fists together and looked down at her feet.

"Commander…I can't stand this anymore. It's been about 5 hours since we boarded the Normandy from Virmire. 5 agonizing hours of dealing with Kaiden's death. Yet I found you here, talking with the last being I expected to see you with." Tears welled in the chief's eyes as she continued.

"How can it make me feel better when I see you flirting with him? I see the way you look at him, I saw how you looked at him on Virmire too. This mission was a failure in my book. We lost an important part of our team, all because you had to go back for your alien lover."

Shepard slammed her fist on the metal table, ringing hollow reverberations through the Crew Deck.

"Are you even listening to yourself, Ash? I sent Garrus back for you! Then it all started to fall deeper into hell from there. So I did the next logical thing; I went back for you. I went back for Saren. I went back for the bomb. Alenko knew what he was getting into the moment he first set foot on the Normandy. I will not let you sit here and tear me apart while you inadvertently boil Alenko's death down to such a simple thing as 'a poor decision'. Do you know how many other lives we lost today besides Kaiden's? How dare you disrespect not only his death, but every other soldier's that's missing from this ship right now. You might has well have spat on their graves." Shepard stood now, tall and unwavering. She watched as Ashley's face twisted into a silent cry, giving proof of her realization to Alenko's sacrifice. He died so that they might live. So that they might win.

But the feel of regaining her authority was bitter sweet. She might have shown the present crew that her justice was swift and not without confidence, but it was at the cost of trust. As she walked towards the elevator, she felt the stares of a dozen human eyes criticizing her love for a Turian. Ashley lost their argument, but she had won by planting the seed of uncertainty in all of the human soldiers that were watching their confrontation.

.vVv.

Garrus walked nervously into the elevator, silently bidding farewell to his unfinished project on the MAKO in the cargo hold. The vehicle needed to be fixed after its previous use on Virmire, however that could wait. It had been two days since his Commander; since his love, had come to see him at his station. He wondered how she was after the first day, worried about her at the end of the second day. Now at the dawn of the third day cycle on the Normandy, he needed to see her.

He understood she might be mourning – he was too. The entire crew had been making their way to and fro with a step so slow and tired, they could have all been mistaken for Husks. It was too much for Garrus. He needed Shepard, needed the one person that could right all the wrongs in this shitty universe. The one woman that could make him forget all of his problems with the soft, loving touch of her fingers. Two whole days without seeing the one person he ever really _wanted_ to see was long enough.

When the elevator opened to the crew deck, he hesitated. There was a good chance a lot of the crew was in the mess hall. They would see him walking directly to Shepard's room without so much as a glance to anyone else. He personally didn't care, but after witnessing the fight between her and Ash, he was willing to bet that Shepard did care on some level. He needed to see her, but he needed to be careful with his approach. He nonchalantly made a cup of coffee, mentally noting how incredibly obvious it now was that he was going to see the Commander, as he never drank coffee of any kind. Avoiding the glances from scattered crew members around the room, he slipped quietly behind the corner and adjusted the collar of his tunic before pressing the button for the door.

He found her right where he guessed she would be, lounging in her seat at the Commanding officer's private terminal, steaming cup of coffee in hand. Her eyes moved to the entrance to her room, eyeing her guest with a lack luster gaze. Upon realizing who it was, she placed her mug on the desk and brushed her fingers through her hair, smiling softly at the man.

"Garrus. I already have coffee." Her warm voice washed over the Turian's waiting body, caressing his spine and coating his cold nervousness with a blanket of reassurance. He stepped over a few stray papers towards the woman and set the cup next to her mug. Pulling another chair closer to the desk, he sat and looked around the room. It was calm in her quarters; void of any of the depressing auras from the rest of the crew. Garrus felt as if he had stepped into a small sanctuary.

He couldn't quite put his finger on the feeling, but whatever it was, it was comforting and satisfying. He looked back toward Shepard, flicking his mandibles out slightly and voicing for a moment the deep thrum in his throat for her to hear. She reached her hand out to him in response, touching the rough skin of his palm and gently massaging each finger.

"I missed you." Garrus barely rumbled out the words, captured by her loving gaze and basking in the relaxing comfort of simply being close to her.

It felt like a dream, he was right in front of her after not even hearing her voice for the past 48 hours. He waited for the dream to end, for the butterflies to fade away, for the rush of reality to make its way back into his mind. Instead, his senses were met with warmth. Shepard had left her seat and settled into his lap, thighs resting on either side of his waist, arms wrapping themselves tightly around his neck. If he really was dreaming, he didn't want it to ever end. She was comfort and light in his most terrible darkness. And lately, it seemed that darkness had grown and was trying to overtake their sanctuary that was the Normandy.

Garrus sighed and drew his arms around her waist, bringing her body close. He let his head fall into her neck while the sweet citrus scent of her human soap filled his nose. She must have just showered not too long ago.

"I didn't mean for anyone to die." He heard her voice crack and felt her hands grip at his neck and fringe. She was crying into his shoulder, and for the first time, Shepard wasn't the commander of the Normandy. In this moment, she was the one woman that Garrus swore to protect. As his arms held her and his hands rubbed on her back, he knew that this was what he was meant to do. While she stayed strong to stop Saren and the Geth, it was Vakarian's job to keep her six, to hold her close to him while he kept her safe from harm. He would always be there for her, even if it killed him.

And in this thought, there was serenity. A certain kind of unique peace overtook his body as he sat there, holding the small figure. He felt strong and compassionate and his mind was crystal clear in its thoughts for Shepard. He loved her, and there wasn't a force in the galaxy that could change that.

He slowly pulled her body off of his shoulder. He held her arms in place and caressed through the fabric with his thumbs while he looked at her tear stained face.

"Don't you ever let anyone's words bring you down or make you question what kind of person you are. Right now, you're looking like the Council's best option. And even without the threat of Saren's wrath, you're the crew's best option. So far you have proven how great of a leader you are. Williams is just…sad. Everyone is sad over certain crew member's deaths. But it wasn't your fault. People might make mistakes, but this wasn't one."

"…but I chose to leave Kaiden. I went back for the bomb. We could have saved him, Garrus."

"I heard his arguments against you over the comm. He wanted what was best for the good of the people. One sacrifice for everyone else's well-being is a great price to pay. It's not a price that anyone ever wants or plans to pay, but he made his decision."

The Turian watched his woman intently, waiting for his words to sink in. Bringing a finger up to the tear streaks, he wiped what he could off of her soft face. She was the most alien, pale, squishy, beautiful thing he had ever seen, and it tore at his heart strings to see her this way.

"I've never seen you cry before."

Shepard smiled at him and cupped his mandible, stroking at the rough hide. "It doesn't happen often. Consider yourself lucky, Vakarian."


End file.
